Bluenosers for Bostonians

The Story

All proceeds raised from this event will be donated to The One Fund. The One Fund is endorsed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.

Fresh Prints Halifax has generously agreed to support this cause by giving a great deal on t-shirts for this event. Proceeds from the T-shirts will go to the families and victims! xoxo Contact me @ [email protected] if you would like a t-shirt!The shirts will say "Bluenosers for Bostonians" (and yes the Bluenosers will be spelled right on the shirts for those concerned!)

About Marisa:I was born and raised in Massachusetts. A year ago I moved to Nova Scotia Canada. Not only did the events that occurred at the Boston Marathon on Marathon Monday affect my home, but it also affected my running family community all over the world. (Anyone who is a runner understands how strong this community is). I take these events PERSONALLY; my entire family resides in Massachusetts, along with many of my friends. These events have changed their lives, and sense of security forever. I still have not found the words to describe how I feel about these senseless acts. Today I went for a run to deal with these emotions (Ironic isn't it?) Running is, and will always be my way to cope. During my run I was flooded with many emotions about how such an incredible athletic event could be changed in seconds into something that has changed the lives of many forever.

This is when I realized that I NEEDED to do something. I NEEDED to help. However, I live in Canada now, finishing up school and working. What could I possibly do?... That’s when I realized I can do what I'm good at... I can RUN.

As many of you know I have been training for the Blue Nose Half Marathon here in Halifax Nova Scotia, collecting donations for the Make a Wish Foundation. (I am happy to announce I have reached my fundraising goal of $300)!!! (Thanks to everyone who helped me reach this goal!) I will still be donating this money to the Make A Wish Foundation, however I will NOT be running the Half Marathon anymore.

I WILL be running the Blue Nose FULL Marathon, and I will be raising money for the victims, and families affected by the monster acts that took place @ Marathon Monday. I have 30 days to turn my half marathon training into full marathon training, and I have only 30 days to fundraise.

I will cross the finish line of the Blue Nose Marathon for the athletes who COULDN’T cross the finish line @ Boston, I will cross the finish line for the families and victims effected, and I will cross the finish line for the people of Massachusetts, WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN.

About Matt:My name is Matt Stickland, and I am training for the Bluenose Marathon. I live and run out in Lawrencetown, and normally I can tell who the runners are because when I'm running they leave a little extra room on the side of the road and sometimes throw me a little wave. In the days following Monday's bombing the runners who normally just make room when they drive by also honked and always waved. What I realized is that there was a solidarity among runners, so on Wednesday's run I decided to start raising money "Bluenosers for Bostonians" is what I was going to call it and allow those who were running in the bluenose to show their solidarity with the runners of the Boston Marathon. Then today at work (Friday) one of my co-workers informed me that someone had already beaten me to this charitable initiative I was trying to start. So I sent Marisa an email and asked if maybe I could help raise money with her and she agreed. So I look forward to working with Marisa to helping raise money for The One Fund. Since The One Fund is so new and still being organized we are also working with a members of Boston's health care providers, to make sure that if there is something that The One Fund (once fully organized) is not covering then we can find an organization that is. Thank you very much for your support in this.

Fundraiser Updates

Posted on April 25, 2013

Posted on April 25, 2013

Donations have officially hit over $1,000!!!! I wish I could express how thankful I am for my truly amazing family, friends, and supporters! I am truly blessed to have the best support system!!!! I have reached my goal of $1,000 and I hope that this number will only continue to increase with 3 weeks left before the Blue Nose Marathon!!! I would also like to thank everyone who has donated! Over the past week and a half I have received donations from amazing strangers with very touching stories about their connections with Boston, and for their support for me running this marathon. These stories not only confirm for me that there is more GOOD than EVIL in this world, but they also motivate me on my long runs to KEEP GOING. I can’t wait for May 19th to come to get this marathon over with so I can send the donations to The One Fund Boston to help the courageous people of Boston affected by these monster acts!

Today I have been hydrating and carbo loading for my 20 mile run tomorrow. Quite frankly I have been absolutely dreading this run! That was until I caught a glimpse of the talk show The View today. Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a victim of the bombing spoke of her story. She lost her leg at the bombing, and spoke about how she looked down and her foot was gone. Her story was more than enough to bring me to tears. Davis is a dance instructor, and she said that she WILL dance again, and she WILL run the Boston Marathon next year. This was motivation enough for me to STOP dreading this 20 mile run, and to be thankful that I CAN run 20 miles, it helped to remind me that I will be running the Blue Nose Marathon May 19th for amazing people like Adrianne Haslet-Davis.

Posted on April 21, 2013

Posted on April 21, 2013

I just wanted to update everyone who has donated in Canadian dollars. Money donated in Canadian dollars will have to be converted to US dollars. Luckily the exchange rate seems to only be off by .1 or .2

Posted on April 20, 2013

Posted on April 20, 2013

I am very happy to announce that I ran my furthest distance ever on Thursday. I ran 18 miles, and felt really good after! I was a bit tight the next morning, but other than that I felt awesome! I have my next long run scheduled for next Thursday and that will be 20 miles! (This is the furthest distance many experts recommend to run while training for a marathon). This will be my furthest distance conquered before the Blue Nose Marathon!

Surprisingly the toughest part for me so far is sticking to a healthy clean diet. I can’t help that I just crave chocolate all the time!!!

Posted on April 20, 2013

Posted on April 20, 2013

I am excited to announce that Matt Stickland a runner from Lawrencetown Nova Scotia has joined my team to run the Blue Nose for the victims of Boston! Matt came up with a catchy phrase that we will now be using “Bluenosers for Bostonians”